Feral Shadows
by Veta-Chan
Summary: At age eight, Kaylin Corey Horrigan was abandoned by her mother in Warfield, Kentucky, Terra. Jump ten years later, and she is now a full fledged thief for the Ravagers under Centaurian Yondu Udonta. An encounter with a humanoid Joka dragon gives her insight on not only about her long lost father, but also about two "Death Dragon" bearers; and she could be one of them. Well—Is she?
1. Prologue

**Date:** Sept. 15

**Year:** 2004

**Location:** Warfield, Kentucky, United States, Terra

The rain began to fall, and the sound of rain hitting the roof of the car made everything soothing.

"Sorry this had to happen, honey," Colleen Horrigan apologized to her eight-year-old daughter Kaylin. She turned to the back seat and saw Kaylin listening to her Walkman CD player, but she was able to hear her mother and replied, "It's okay!" Colleen smiled.

Once they got to their location, a small recreation center, they rushed inside. Inside the rec center was a basketball court, a game room, and a meeting room. Kaylin's mother told her to just go find her friends and play with them. She smiled and went off. Just as Kaylin was out of earshot, Colleen ran by the restrooms and pulled out a device from her jacket pocket and spoke into it. "I'll be leaving as soon as possible. You can take over afterwards," she said to it. A Southern accented voice replied back, "Ya sure ya wanna do this, Col?"

Colleen looked over to where her daughter was with her friends in the game room. She nodded, despite the fact that the person at the other end of the receiver could not see her do it and said, "...Yes."

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**…**_

The rec center was getting near closing time. Kaylin grabbed her backpack and checked to see if everything was in it; she checked her red bandana, her Walkman CD player and headphones, her jacket, her plush husky dog, her glass case with her sunglasses, and her sketchbooks and pencils. Kaylin wasn't sure why her mom had asked her to pack all of this but she didn't seem to mind it. Kaylin adjusted her glasses, zipped her backpack and went out to look for her mother.

After five minutes of searching, it seemed as though her mother wasn't in the center. She shrugged and assumed that she went out to pull up the car. Kaylin went up to the door and saw their car. The rain kept falling hard.

However, as soon as she got out the doors, her mother took off. Scared, Kaylin started running after the car. "MOMMY! MOMMY!" she cried. She ran through the pouring rain screaming for her mom to stop the car. Kaylin ran and ran until her legs couldn't keep going.

Kaylin cried out for her mother but the car was already out of her sight. She was lucky the heavy rain was drowning out her sobbing and crying. Kaylin then quickly took shelter under a bus stop bench. The roof at least stop the rain from drenching her.

After shaking off the water, she shivered and curled up in a ball, pulling her knees close to her chest and put her face against them. She cried again.

She wondered why her mother would leave her just now and not say anything to her before hand.

Night fell and it was still pouring down rain. Since Warfield was such a small town, hardly anyone was out at night time, with the exception of the miners heading home. Following this fact, Kaylin has never known her father since the day she was born. She remembered how her mother had described him as "handsome and beautiful as silver". Kaylin sighed at this thought and put her forehead back against her knees and tried to close her silver eyes.

Suddenly, a bright light had woken her up. She looked up and saw some sort of aircraft hovering a few yards above her. She hesitantly walked out and approached the mysterious aircraft. Despite being a fan of mythology, astrology, the super and paranormal, and UFOlogy, she has never seen anything like this.

Before she could make her next move, all she could see was white light, and nothing else more.


	2. Ten Years Later

**Date: **July 23

**Year:** 2014

**Location:** The Eclector

**Time:** 15:09

Things aboard the _Eclector_ was getting uneasy every second. Their captain Yondu paced back and forth on the deck impatiently. "How can retrievin' one simple lil' thing take _three hours_?!" he yelled. His right hand man, Kraglin, implied, "Well technically they've been there for about an hour, an-"

The Centaurian angrily turned to him and hissed, "Don't try any o' that bullshit on me! I'm gettin' pretty danm tired o' all yer-"

"GET OUTTA THE WAY!"

A voice called out over the intercom. Kraglin and Yondu turned and reported to the hangar as quickly as possible. Once they got there, the flight door opened, and a young man with fair skin and shoulder length black mohawk riding a large M-ship sized silver dragon crashed and skidded before the dragon turned into a much smaller form— a human, rather. The two young Ravagers crashed into a stack of crates, which, in turn, landed on them.

Yondu and Kraglin rushed down to the deck. "Wha' in the-?" Yondu exclaimed. The crates moved and the fair skinned man emerged first before the next Ravager did. This Ravager, however, was a female. A teenager to be precise. The teen girl had a short brown bob with red highlights hidden under her red bandana with the exception of her bangs; she had on the Ravager uniform (most of which a male would typically wear); her silver eyes glistened in the ship's lights. Other Ravagers on the hangar turned to the sudden action.

The young female Ravager adjusted her glasses before turning to the other Ravager and yelling at him, "You asshole! I told you not to touch that thing! But NOOO, you jes' had to attempt to steal the damn thing!" The other Ravager looked at her and said, "Oh! Well I'm sorry, miss "I-gotta-carry-my-dumb-music-player-everywhere-I-go"! And quite honestly, you also had to piss off those monkey people with your sass talk!"

The teen got offended and countered, "Oh so now I'm the bad guy, mister "I-want-that-treasure-for-myself"?! You heard what th' guy said back there!"

The two kept going with the argument until Yondu started whistling. His signature Yaka Arrow traveled in circles around the two youngsters, startling them, before returning to its owner.

"Kaylin! Rosier! You two need t' shut the fuck up!" Yondu ordered. Kaylin's pupils widened; Rosier trembled. "Now could one o' you two nitwitz explain to me wha' the hell happened?!" he demanded again.

Kaylin shuddered and started, "Umm, well…"

…

…

…

_Earlier…_

_**Location:**_ _Malloven, Zyokai_

_**Time: **__14:45_

_A young Ravager approached the ancient Zyokain temple at the core grounds. Her GPS/detector went off like crazy. It was telling her about the target she was looking for. The teen tapped the side of her head and her mask opened to reveal the face of the Ravager: an eighteen year old by the name of Kaylin Corey Horrigan._

_Her eyes were covered by her sunglasses as she looked up at the doors to the temple. Kaylin adjusted her red bandana and tested the doors; she found out they could be knocked down anytime soon. She smirked and pushed her Ravager flight jacket out of the way and revealed a Walkman CD player. She put her headphones on and placed her foot on the doors. She pressed 'play'._

_The track started out with:_

"~_Some-~"_

_Kaylin kicked the doors down._

"~_-body once told me the world is gonna roll me_

_I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.~"_

_The track was her favorite song of all time: _All Star _by Smash Mouth from 1999. As the song went on, so did her little dancing._

"~_She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb_

_In the shape of an "L" on her forehead~"_

_When the last lines hit, she acted out the said girl's action in the song._

_You see, much like Peter Quill, Kaylin kept her mom's CD player with all of her favorite songs bunt onto it. That's how they bonded when Kaylin first arrived on the _Eclector.

_As Kaylin danced, she made her way to her destination._

"~_Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming_

_Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running_

_Didn't make sense not to live for fun_

_Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb~"_

_She kicked a small creature out of the way while she walked._

"~_So much to do so much to see_

_So what's wrong with taking the back streets?_

_You'll never know if you don't go_

_You'll never shine if you don't glow~"_

_Kaylin picked up a rock and pretended that it was a microphone._

"~_Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play_

_Hey now you're a Rockstar get the show on get paid_

_And all that glitters is gold_

_Only shooting stars break the mold~"_

_There was a few yards of wet ground and, despite having a good fighter jacket, she could feel the cool air around it. The water from the planet can reach subzero temperatures when left in alone or in a dark place; much cooler than cave water from Terra._

"~_It's a cool place and they say it gets colder_

_You're bundled up now but wait 'til you get older_

_But the media men beg to differ_

_Judging by the hole in the satellite picture~"_

_And because of the cool water, there was a patch of muddy ice along with some water. It could be slick enough to slide on._

"~_The ice we skate is getting pretty thin_

_The water's getting warm so you might as well swim_

_My world's on fire. How about yours?_

_That's the way I like it and I'll never get bored._

_Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play_

_Hey now you're a Rockstar get the show on get paid_

_And all that glitters is gold_

_Only shooting stars break the mold~"_

_Kaylin came to a halt and observed the gorge separating her and the target. Down in the gully, there was a river running through the old temple. The river housed a serpent-like creature the Zyokains called "The Ripper". She wasn't sure why, but she bought it._

_Smirking again, she activated the rockets in her boots and started to Moonwalk like Michael Jackson across the gorge in no time._

_At the other end, the song started back up after a few seconds._

"~_Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play_

_Hey now you're a Rockstar get the show on get paid_

_And all that glitters is gold_

_Only shooting stars…~"_

_She turned back around and started walking again._

"~_Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas_

_I need to get myself away from this place_

_I said yep what a concept_

_I could use a little fuel myself_

_And we could all use a little change~"_

_Kaylin's GPS went off again, saying that she was just a few yards away from her target._

"~_Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming_

_Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running_

_Didn't make sense not to live for fun_

_Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb_

_So much to do so much to see_

_So what's wrong with taking the back streets_

_You'll never know if you don't go_

_You'll never shine if you don't glow.~"_

_She lip synced the final lines._

"~_Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play_

_Hey now you're a Rockstar get the show on get paid_

_And all that glitters is gold_

_Only shooting stars break the mold~"_

_Kaylin found herself at the foot of the stairs to her target. Instead of scaling the 100 set of stairs, she used her rocket boots to get up there._

"~_And all that glitters is gold_

_Only shootin' stars break the mold~"_

_Kaylin took off the sunglasses from her regular glasses, revealing her silver dragon-like eyes as she gawked at her target: an emerald cut, sky blue crystal with a white core. From what she heard from their buyer, the crystal gave the user the power of invisibility._

_She smirked and said, "Alrigh' come to mama...!" Kaylin reached for the crystal and took it in her hands. She observed the crystal and stared at its beauty. "Sweet deal, bro...!" She muttered._

_A voice interrupted her train of thought._

_"Drop the Mizony and put your hands up!" Said the voice. Kaylin rolled her eyes. "Oh shit...," she cursed under her breath. She raised her hands and turned around to find the Zyokai guards pointing their weapons at her. The head guard motioned the others to surround her and take the "Mizony" from her and cuff her._

_"You thought you and your friend were clever enough to pose as one of us and take our relics, didn't you?" The head guard asked, his tail flicking. Kaylin smirked. "If you put it that way... Then yeah," she replied. A guard took the Milony from her hands. "Yo! Easy on the prize money, man!" She told them._

_"And don't think I would know your name, Kaylin Horrigan. We've seen your records," he said. She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Course ya have..."_

_"And we aren't going to let anymore into your records, now move!" Ordered the head guard. Before the guards got her to move, she stopped them. "Well, wait! There's another name y'all might know me by," she said. The guard turned to her and asked, "...What?"_

_Kaylin smirked and said, "Shadow Queen!"_

_"...Who?" He asked raising an eyebrow._

_Kaylin sighed and lowered her shoulders saying, "Shadow Queen, yo. Ya know… She Who Hides in Shadows?" The guard raised his arms like she was talking crazy— and she most likely was. "C'mon, dude. Really?" she said. The guard ignored her and motioned the others to take her in. Kaylin sighed heavily and muttered, "Fuck it."_

_Kaylin grew out a tail and she grabbed the guard by his legs and lifted him up; he started screeching. The head guard turned around and saw what was going on. She then slammed the one guard onto the other and grabbed the orb they dropped. The head guard showed off his teeth and said aloud, "Dragon!"_

_She shrugged at him and replied, "Yeah. Go figure."_

_The two began to quarrel. She dodged every shot he was firing. "Terrible shots for a monkey!" He kept shooting her while she evaded his shots. "Wai- How do you even know my name?!" she suddenly asked._

_The guard smirked and answered, "Your little friend told us everything about your plans, Horrigan, after we caught him touching our sacred relic!" Her eyes widened and repeated, "Wait. Sacred relic?!" He nodded and grunted. "The one that is absolutely off limits even to your people?!" she asked. He nodded again._

_Kaylin looked at him with disbelief and muttered, "I am so gonna kill that son ova bitch when I get out…!" _

"_But you have to get through me first!"_

"_INCOMIN'!"_

_Before anyone could react, an M-ship crashed through the walls and hit the guard, causing him to go flying across the temple._

_The pilot broke the window and got out panting. He turned to his fellow Ravager and grinned saying, "Sorry I'm late, mate…!"_

_However, Kaylin wasn't all too happy to see him. "Rosier you assbutt! What the hell did I say about that treasure by the entrance?!"_

_Rosier became terrified and replied, "I-I couldn't help it…!"_

_Kaylon face palmed and muttered, "Can't believe I got stuck with an imbecile…"_

…

…

…

"...And so the M-ship was totaled so, as a last resort, I had to go dragon. And so basically long story short, we almost died," Kaylin concluded. Yondu turned to Rosier and Rosier nodded.

Their captain just shook his head. "B-But we still got it, if that makes ya feel any better…!" Kaylin offered with Rosier taking it out and sheepishly smiling. Yondu averted his red eyes to the crystal. Rosier tossed to him and he caught it. Yondu looked back at Kaylin and she wordlessly pleaded, "Please eat him! I don't wanna be around him anymore!"

Yondu raised an eyebrow.


	3. Reflection in the Snow Covered Hills

"W'll hey, it coulda been worse. We really coulda died!" Kaylin argued. She walked next to Yondu as they walked back to the command center while talking about the near-death experience on Zyokai. Yondu replied to her comment, "Kay, I understand tha', but why the hell do ya wanna get rid o' him?"

She answered, "All he's gonna do is hold me back! I can't keep working with him." Yondu asked, "What makes ya think he'll hold ya back?" She replied, "Fer one thing, he keeps makin' the dumbest comments 'bout you-"

"As if this crew doesn't do that all th' time…"

"Did I mention he kept callin' me 'his lil' princess' the whole time?"

"I'll get rid o' him tomorrow."

Kaylin gave a sigh of relief and mouthed, "Thank God!"

The two walked over the maintenance team on the catwalk.

"I shoulda known th' kid ain't no good fer th' crew. Shoulda even eaten him when we had th' chance!" Yondu ranted. Kaylin agreed, "Yeah, ya think…?" He continued, "Anyway, princess, think we need ta git this thing to yer buyer?" Kaylin shrugged. "If that's th' way to go, then, yeah, sure," she answered. He smirked, saying, "That didn't sound all too confident comin' from a cocky lil' lady like you."

Kaylin told him, "I-I gotta be honest wit' ya, I'm not really sure wha' this guy wants. I mean, hell, the poor bastard might rip me off, he could be a total fluke, God knows what he wants." Yondu stopped and turned around to face her. She stopped as well.

"That's what ya think?" he asked. Kaylin replied with, "Mhmm" and a short nod.

Yondu gave her a weird look before speaking again. "Lemme tell ya somethin'."

"Oh God...," Kaylin said under her breath.

"I remembered that I raised a girl to be a thief- not a coward," Yondu stated; Kaylin rolled her eyes.

"An' now that lil' girl is sayin' tha' she-"

He heard a whistle from behind (sounds like the Twitter update). Yondu turned around but Kaylin acted like she didn't do anything. He raised an eyebrow and continued, "Anyway, an' yer tellin' me tha'-"

She whistled again. This time it started low then went high, and dropped.

Yondu smirked. "What-" She whistled again, high and low. They stood there in silence before Yondu started to laugh. He knew she would pick up something from him sooner or later; and it seemed that her version of his "Boboli" gibberish was this dragon-whistling of hers.

"I knew you were gonna end up like me sooner 'er later!" he proudly stated. Kaylin chuckled, "Yeah right, cuzz I'm pretty much yer daughter since day one!" Yondu smirked and said, "All th' more reason t' keep ya alive on board…!" He threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. The two chatted and continued on to the captain's quarters.

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**…**_

**Time:** 23:09

Yondu walked down the wide metal corridor, passing some residence areas before eventually passing up a study room. He didn't realize the door was wide open but he heard something from there.

He paused halfway before taking steps backwards and he peered in. Kaylin was up late again doing what looks like more studying— or sleeping. He heard something coming from her work space, and so he stepped in. The Centaurian saw that she had her flight jacket tied around her waist and had her black tank top on, her bandana was being pushed back, and glasses were right in front of her head—speaking of which, it was resting on her arms. Yondu concluded that she must have fallen asleep in the middle of her work.

He examined the space more and saw that she had that CD player of hers with her headphones over her ears. He smirked; this was too much like their last Terran Peter Quill. It was no wonder they were easily able to get along with each other… Well occasionally. Then suddenly, curiosity took over him. He knelt down and carefully took the headphones off her head and put them over his ears. Unlike Peter, though, this kind of "music" was not loud at all. It was… It was rather slow and quiet.

He listened to the words of this particular song.

"_~I took my love and took it down_

_I climbed a mountain and I turned around_

_And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills_

_Till the landslide brought me down~"_

As much as he would not like to admit it, there was something about this Terran song that made him like it a little. He saw why she would want to listen to that at this time of night.

"_~Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?_

_Can the child within my heart rise above?_

_Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?_

_Can I handle the seasons of my life?~"_

He glanced over at Kaylin's sleeping form. He could tell she was listening to this one song over and over again for whatever reason. Yondu took the headphones off and took the CD player in his blue hands. He examined it to see how to turn it off. There was a button on there exactly like Peter's "Walkman" and he pressed that. He then gently shook her. "Kaylin? Kay?"

She snorted and grunted a little. "Mmm. Whaaa…?" she murmurred. Yondu smirked and said, "Ya fell asleep, kiddo. Better head off an' get some sleep." Kaylin lifted herself up and held her arms out to him and mumbled, "Carry me…"

He smirked and shook his head, taking her in his arms. Kaylin put her arms around his neck for support and tiredly put her head against the crook of his neck. They left the study quietly as to not disturb any sleeping Ravagers. "...Th' galaxy is such a weird place," she said in a tired way. Yondu couldn't help but grin at her statement. "Yeah… Plenty o' them jackasses out there," he agreed.

He felt her move a little in his arms. Kaylin had adjusted her position so that she was facing him more. She began humming something. He turned his head and asked, "Whatcha say?" Kaylin replied, "_Landslide_… Fleetwood Mac… 19-," she yawned, "-75… Great song… Mom use ta sing me tha' to put me t' sleep. Do'en't beat Stevie Nick, though..." Yondu grunted. He wasn't sure who Fleetwood Mac or Stevie Nick were but he wasn't going to ask anymore questions for now.

Kaylin had fallen asleep before they even got to her room (which was right by his conveniently). He heard her lightly snoring. Yondu rolled his eyes and got the door to her room open. He found his way to her bed and put her down in it. He took the CD player and put it by her jacket and pulled the sheets over her. Not willing to take more time away from her sleep, he left her room and closed the door.

Yondu entered his quarters seconds later. Now thanks to that song of hers, he thought about the day they took her in.

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**Date:**_ _Sept 15_

_**Year:**_ _2004_

_**Time:**_ _18:37_

_Yondu overheard some yelling below deck. He thought that taking the kid would be a lot quieter than what he was hearing. He huffed and got out of his chair and went down the ladder. "What th' hell's that damn noise?!" he asked angrily. A human with a mohawk, a stubble and the Ravager uniform, Kraglin, turned to his boss and replied, "She's actin' up, sir. She won't talk to any of us."_

_Yondu pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered, "One o' y'all had to 've threaten to eat her-AND WE ARE NOT DOIN' THAT RIGHT NOW!" Kraglin raised his hands in defense and stepped away from the child they took in. Yondu stepped forward to the girl and got Kraglin and Horuz to get out of the way. The girl had long brown hair, had tan skin, and was only wearing blue jeans, a white tank top, and had a backpack slung across her back. She was wet and shivering and held her knees close to her for warmth._

_Yondu knelt down to her and said, "Hey. Missy!" The girl looked up to him and gasped a little, scooting backwards until she hit the wall behind her._

_He saw that her eyes were silver and that her pupils were slit. He smirked and said, "Yer an interestin' lil' thing, ain't cha?" The girl shivered before she sneezed. When she sneezed, however, she spat out a tiny silver flame. The flame quickly went out as it had came out._

_Yondu raised an eyebrow as Kraglin and Horuz stared in amazement. He looked back at his crewmen and Horuz just shrugged and said, "I-I swear she's Terran! Never knew they could do that." The girl shook her head rapidly and stuttered, "N-No! I-I didn' mean to do that!" Yondu turned back to her and said, "Now I ain't sure 'bout that, but if you do as I say, we'll go easy on ya." _

_He put his hand out to her. "Whaddya say, kid?" She impulsively swiped at his hand leaving three blood-drawing scratch marks on his hand. Yondu cursed from the pain; the girl had her hand up ready to strike again. He snarled at her, "Why you lil'-!"_

_He grabbed her arm while she struggled out if his grip. Kraglin and Horuz chuckled. "Don't even try, girly. He too strong for ya," Kraglin stated. The girl squealed, "Lemme go! Lemme go!" Yondu growled, "No chance, Terran! Yer stuck wit' us- Now stop squirmin'!"_

_From another room, a young man stepped outside a little to see what was going on. He had short dirty blond hair, green eyes, a Ravager vest with a long sleeved grey shirt, the uniform pants and boots; he was starting to grow a stubble. He took off his headphones and took a listen to the commotion._

_The girl struggled to get out of Yondu's grip until she growled, "Let. Me. GO!" Suddenly, the girl grew wings and she used them to push Yondu out of the way. The force also impacted Kraglin and Horuz as they were blown away. She spewed silver flames as a defense mechanism to make them stay back._

_The young man watching it became wide eyed in both amazement and terror and retreated back into his room. Yondu, Kraglin, and Horuz's faces were cloaked in sheer shock; from their last experience with a Terran, this was definitely something out of the ordinary._

_The little girl realized what she did and the wings quickly disappeared. She curled up in fetal position again and started crying again. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" She cried. The girl started to beat herself before Yondu got her to stop. "Hey hey- HEY! Knock it off!" The girl looked up and met her silver eyes with his red eyes. He gave her a serious face and said, "I dunno what the hell just happened, but if you wanna live, you gotta cooperate wit' us. Understood?"_

_The girl hesitantly shook her head and sniffled. Yondu smirked and ordered the others to start the ship again. He stayed with her for the time being. He sat next to her and asked for her name._

_"...K-Kaylin Horrig-gan, s-suh," the girl answered._

_Yondu nodded. He told him his name and the girl seemed to have calmed down a little after that. She pulled out her CD player and put her headphones over her ears. From the corner of his eye, he watched her take it out and start figiting with it._

_Kaylin pressed a button and put herself back in her previous position._

_..._

_..._

_..._

Yondu chuckled. She was definitely something else. He turned right around and checked on her again. She was still fast asleep. Her left arm was dangling down and she had her bandana in her hand (he assumed she must have been dreaming when she took it off).

But then again, he thought about what had happened back when. He approached her sleeping form and knelt down by her. Something about her made him think that she had more problems in her past than what he was told.

He sighed and went to the other side of her room. His back met the wall and he slid down and readjusted his sitting position. He was starting to grow tired as well and started to shut his eyes, leaning his head against the wall.

Seconds later, he felt weight against his lap. He opened an eye and saw that Kaylin was right there. She had herself to where it looked like she was a sleeping pet. Or dragon in this case. Yondu wasn't phased though. Instead, he smirked and petted her hair before falling asleep.


	4. The Hooded Figure

Yondu opened his eyes the next morning and saw that Kaylin was not in the room. He shrugged and assumed she left to get breakfast. He waved his hand and pulled up a clock on a monitor.

It was 8:55.

He grunted and stood up and stretched his back. '_Knew it wasn't a smart idea t' sleep on th' floor_,' he thought to himself. He left her room and made his way to the mess hall.

Once he entered, however, the eyes of the Ravager crew went directly to him.

Some were trying their hardest not to laugh; others keeping a straight face but keeping a smile from forming; others covering their smiling faces or turning them away from their captain. Yondu raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? The hell y'all lookin' at?!" he asked finally.

A large gorilla-like Ravager with black and white fur with a grey under belly, named Kupa, passed by Yondu and commented while chuckling, "Nice 'stache, cap'n!" The Centaurian gave him an odd look. "What…?" he asked. He took an empty metal tray and put it up by his face and saw what the gorilla-Ravager was talking about: Somebody had put a pink handle bar mustache on his face while he was asleep.

His face of realization made the whole mess hall burst out into laughter.

He dropped the tray and yelled over the laughter, "WHO THE FUCK IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS BULLSHIT?!"

He already narrowed down who could have done this: Peter Quill, Golan, Yukina, and, unfortunately for him, Kaylin Horrigan.

He pushed back his jacket and revealed the arrow. The whole room immediately went quiet. "Now if nobody fesses up, you'll either be killed by the whistle, or be eaten alive! Now who did this?!"

Right on cue, the door slide open and closed. He turned around and saw in enough time a silver tail— and he knew who the tail belonged to.

He put the arrow back and left the mess hall; the place bursted out laughing again.

He began following the perpetrator until he was just yards away. He whistled and the arrow headed straight to the perpetrator's face; millimeters away from penetrating their head. The person stopped dead in their tracks.

"Figured ya do tha' at some point, Corey," Yondu commented. Kaylin felt her heart stop. "Oooooh shiiit…," she cursed. Yondu walked up behind her; close enough that he was inches behind her. "Ya know what happens when ya do that ta ol' Yondu?" He asked, the arrow returning to its hilt. Kaylin replied, "What?"

Yondu slipped the bandana off her head with a smirk. "What th- HEY!" She spun around and attempted to get her bandana from him. However, he was too tall for her. "Dammit, Yondu! Gimme that!" She pouted. The Centaurian only smirked and stepped back. "Only if ya get this damn thing off first~," he replied pointing to his face. She stepped forward. "Gimme th' bandana, and then I'll consider it," she answered.

"Git rid o' th' 'stache!"

"Gimme th' bandana!"

There was a silence.

Suddenly, Yondu took off running. "Hey! Get back here!" She called out running after him. Their chase ended at the hangar. A row of crates separated them. "Drop it! Drop it! Drop it now!" Kaylin yelled. Yondu shook his head. "I swear t' God if you don' drop th' bandana…!" He gave her his smirk. Next thing he knew, her anthropomorphic form tackled him. Kaylin, though, still couldn't reach for her bandana.

Yondu and Kaylin wrestled for ownership of the red bandana until Kaylin's shadow started to move on its own. It grew a tail and grabbed Yondu by the legs, causing him to levitate. The shadow hung him upside down. Kaylin walked up to him with a prideful smile. She took the bandana from his hand and said, "Okay. I can take that off yer face now." Yondu shouted, "'Bout fuckin' time!" Kaylin placed one hand on the mustache and the other on his cheek.

"Okay, now this is gonna hurt!" she suddenly said. He shot her a concerned looked.

"W-What?"

"It's duct tape. Gonna be real painful th' instant I rip it off yer face."

Yondu gave her a mixed look of anger, concern, and question, saying, "Are you crazy?!"

"No. An' if I were, I woulda made tha' 'stache just a strip," she replied with a smirk.

"Okay- One-"

"Oh hell no."

"Two-"

"Don' you-"

"THREE!"

The instant the tape mustache came off, the whole hangar was filled with his scream of pain.

…

…

…

**Time:** 11:02

**Location:** Xandar, Nova Empire

"What happened to Yondu?" asked the Broker.

Kaylin looked over her shoulder and watched Yondu examine the various trinkets in the shop, all while having a small wet cloth over his upper lip. She turned back to the Broker, shrugged and replied, "It was a painful procedure, suh. All it took was one good clean swipe an' that tape was off o' him like pluckin' th' feathers off a chicken."

The Broker gave her an odd confused look. "Excuse me?" Kaylin answered, "Uh, it's somethin' we say back on Terra; especially in m' area." She forgot nobody understood her Eastern Kentucky dialect.

The Broker just shrugged.

She turned back to Yondu, who just now flipped the bird and gave her a pissed off look on his face. She smiled cutely and flipped the bird back.

"You two are very odd around each other…," the Broker commented. She turned back to him and replied, "I know."

"So do you have our gem?" he asked changing the subject. Kaylin pulled out the Mizony from her satchel. "One invisibility crystal, yer majesty," she said placing the crystal on the display case. "Oh. An' I nearly died gettin' this, thank you very much!" she added. The short man looked up from the crystal and said, "I beg your pardon?" Kaylin replied, "Yeah. A pal o' mine done fucked up our mission an' had to provoke th' natives. Yondu said he'd fire him later today."

"What… What did he do that would make the inhabitants upset?"

She then explained the forbidden treasure, the fight and encounter with the Zyokai general and the escape.

The Broker thought about the situation momentarily before speaking again. "Well I do suppose I could fix the price a little," he promised. "Prices- Right. I was thinkin'... 300 credits," Kaylin offered. The Broker shook his head and said, "Mmm. Won't do." Kaylin huffed out of annoyance and said, "C'mon, man. I 'bout got skinned alive cuzz of this thing. C'mon, 400 credits."

"Absolutely not!"

"Well what were you thinkin' on?"

"Around 150."

"WHAT?"

"I can't go higher than that. I need money for my business," he informed her.

Kaylin made a motion with her hand and said, "Look, man, I don' care 'bout yo damn business. I just risked m' life gettin' what you need and I need th' money, dude."

The Broker yelled, "No!"

Yondu turned around to the argument.

"Look, man, how many times are you gonna have somebody risk death in order to get somethin' as valuable as this?" she asked angrily holding up the Mizony.

"As far as I am concerned, you, miss Horrigan, are not willing to make this any easier!" the Broker argued. Kaylin felt offensive and said, "Excuse me?!" The Broker continued, "Just because you escaped death does not make this any more valuable. Now I am willing to make a price of your offer, but valuing this at such a high price is absolutely ridiculous!"

"Yeah right, like it ain't even more ridiculous than it is…," she muttered.

"You have quite the nerve to show your face in Nova Empire at such a "dire" moment," he commented.

Yondu pushed back his flight jacket revealing his yaka arrow.

"Look, yo, I ain't gonna waste m' time wit' yer damn business. Just gimme th' damn money, ol' man er else!" Kaylin growled. "Or else wha-"

The arrow was instantly right between the Broker's eyes.

"Er else Imma hafta use that against you…!" Yondu finished approaching Kaylin and the Broker. He put a hand on Kaylin's shoulder and said, "Now why doncha do wha' th' lil' lady says, an' we'll be on our way~."

The Broker gulped while the two Ravagers smirked.

…

…

…

"We should add that to yer rules: When in doubt, if someone's bein' an ass, go for the arrow!" Kaylin exclaimed. Yondu chuckled and replied, "That can really get yer money's worth!" The two walked from the Broker's shop and went on their way to Kaylin's M-ship, the Silver Liner.

She was an all black ship with silver/grey markings. The markings almost looked like a dragon skeleton, especially by the pilot's deck.

Kaylin and Yondu found a place to get some lunch before heading out.

However, something- or someone- wasn't going to let them go easily.

From a distance, a hooded figure watched the Ravager duo enjoy their food and earnings. The figure had its snout sticking out, looked very anthropomorphic, and had their satchel over their right shoulder. They held their arm up and uncovered their wrist revealing a detector/scanner. He waved his hand and he opened up a screen. The screen showed the information of a selected target and their profiles.

The screen selected Yondu and it had scanned and pulled up Yondu's profile.

The profile read:

**Name:** Yondu Udonta

**Age:** 55

**D.O.B:** -

**Home Planet:** Centauri-IV

**Species:** Centaurian

**Height:** 6'2"

**Affiliate(s):** Ravagers

They then scanned over Kaylin. Her profile read:

**Name:** Kaylin Corey Horrigan

**Age:** 18

**D.O.B.:** May 9, 1996 (Terran calender)

**Home Planet:** Terra

**Species:** Human/Joka

**Height:** 5'5"

**Affiliates:** Ravagers

The hooded figure zoomed in on Kaylin. They tapped her mugshot photo and looked more in depth into her profile. They learned that her mother was a human from Terra and her father was an extraterrestrial dragon species called Jokan (from the Terra-like planet Joka). There was no given information on Kaylin's father, only her mother.

The figure waved their hand again, and the screen disappeared. They turned a dial on their gauntlet. Another screen pulled up, showing the face of another dragon; a Jokan. The hooded figure spoke in its native language: "Nimeona msichana. Je, unataka mimi kufanya ijayo?"

The receiver replied, "Kumshawishi."

"H-Jinsi Gani? Nini kama yeye yanayoonyesha joka?"

The Jokan at the other end replied, "Yeye hawawezi. Yeye hajui jinsi ya kudhibiti joka ndani yake; na yeye ni pia hofu ya kutumia hiyo. Hakuna haja kwa kusababisha migogoro." . The hooded figure hesitated. "Wewe ni kufanya vizuri. Umekuwa mafunzo kwa wakati huu. Sasa kwenda, Kesu."

And the screen vanished.

The figure, Kesu, looked back to Yondu and Kaylin.

"...And then he said, 'Cuzz yer my best fuckin' friend, bitch! That's your job!'." Yondu smirked. "'That means that my bullshit is yer bullshit, and your bullshit is my bullshit!'. I told the son ova bitch 'No. Your bullshit is your bullshit, an' my bullshit is my bullshit! Especially with you, I could care less wha' happens to you!'"

That got Yondu chuckling.

"I wouldn't say I blame ya," he commented. Kaylin took a sip of her drink. "Yeah right. Rosier's a bigger ass than Gawlin, I swear t' ya," she said, "Hell, ev'rything he says is just bullshit itself!"

Kesu slowly began approaching the Ravagers.

"I woulda whooped his ass when I had the chance," she said.

"You'll get yer chance once I fire him. Trust me on that one-"

"Um, excuse me, but, are you Kaylin Horrigan?"

Yondu looked up while Kaylin turned around to see Kesu standing behind them.

Kaylin could also swear that Kesu sounded a lot like a Disney character named Panic from _Hercules_.

"Why do ya need t' know that?" Yondu asked.

Kesu replied, "I only wanted to tell her that I admire her bravery and her strength." While he spoke, he put a hand behind his back and slid his sleeve down revealing a syringe.

Kaylin smirked and said, "Well, flattered as I am, I wouldn't consider th' things I do "_brave_", but thank-"

Kesu grabbed her by the collar and stabbed her with the syringe. She screamed, "GAH GODDAMMIT!"

Kesu let her go and she flailed around yelling at Kesu, "Wha' th' hell?!" He was already running off. Yondu immediately got up from his chair and started running after him. "Git th' hell back here!" he yelled. Crowds of people began looking at the commotion.

"Hey! Wait! I'm still here! Wait up!" Kaylin called out watching Yondu run after Kesu. She stumbled before regaining her ground. She rubbed her neck where Kesu had stabbed her. "Ow… God that was totally painful an' rude all at once…," she mumbled, stumbling and regaining her ground again.

Kesu slipped his way through the crowd while Yondu angrily pushed or shoved people out of the way. Kesu turned his head and saw Yondu catching up to him. In return, Kesu picked up the pace. He took out the gauntlet and the syringe and injected Kaylin's blood into it. The gauntlet started to do a scan.

"Come on, come on…!" he muttered. The scan was already 50% done. "Yes. Almost there…!"

Suddenly, his face met the end of a chair.

He fell backwards and fell unconscious. "That… *_pant_* was for stabbin' me *_pant_* IN TH' FUCKIN' NECK, BITCH!" she said. Yondu caught up to both of them and quickly approached Kaylin and asked, "Y' okay, princess?" Kaylin nodded rubbing her neck and relied, "All good, cap'n. Kinda hurts though."

He examined the place on her neck and commented, "Better git ya back on the Eclector."

"Well what about him?" she asked pointing to Kesu. Yondu looked down at the unconscious dragon and said, "Eh, he'll be fine. Take 'im wit' us. Think this boy's got some explainin' to do."

Suddenly, Kaylin felt light headed. She began to stumble. "Kay? You alright?" Yondu asked. She felt her legs get weak and her vision became dark. "Kaylin!" was the last thing she heard before going unconscious.

**((Author's Note: Okay, so I decided to make the Jokan language Swahili because I am ****_that_**** creative on their language XD**

**Here it is translated:**

-"Nimeona msichana. Je, unataka mimi kufanya ijayo?" (_I found the girl. What do you want me to do next?_)

- "Kumshawishi." (_Convince her._)

-"H-Jinsi Gani? Nini kama yeye yanayoonyesha joka?" (_H-How? What if she unleashes the dragon?_)

-"Yeye hawawezi. Yeye hajui jinsi ya kudhibiti joka ndani yake; na yeye ni pia hofu ya kutumia hiyo. Hakuna haja kwa kusababisha migogoro." (_She can't. She doesn't know how to control the dragon within her; and she is also afraid to use it. There is no need to cause conflict_).

-"Wewe ni kufanya vizuri. Umekuwa mafunzo kwa wakati huu. Sasa kwenda, Kesu." (_You are doing good. You have been trained for this moment. Now go, Kesu._)

**Well that should be it for me tonight. I'll start the next chapter tomorrow. Goodnight!))**


	5. Kesu the Scout

Kaylin slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was becoming clearer. She realized she was back in her quarters on the _Eclector_. The medic bot was standing by her bedside and saw her waking up and said, "Oh. You are awake. That is good!" Kaylin rolled to her side and mumble, "Yeah, I guess so… Gah m' neck is sore…" She rubbed her neck where she had been stabbed. The medic bot told her, "The wound did not take long to heal. You took quite the damage from one wound."

She sat up, shrugged and said, "Must be pretty sensitive if I was out fer… Wait how long was I out for?"

"Almost three days, Horrigan."

Her eyes widened by the bot's response.

"Th-three?"

The bot nodded.

"Geez… musta been a doozy," she muttered. Her door slid open and the person who entered was no one other than Peter James Quill himself. "Oh God…" she said under her breath.

Peter grinned at her and said, "Weell good mornin', Sleepin' Beauty!"

"Hey yerself…," she replied.

"Heard you got stabbed in the neck. How'd that feel?"

Kaylin gave Peter her best "I am so 9000% done with you, Peter" look.

"I got stabbed," she answered, the amount of "done" filling her voice.

Peter rolled his eyes and gave her a sassy look.

"Say, where's Yondu?" Kaylin asked. peter immediately answered, "He's in the interrogation room with this weird hooded lizard dude. He saying the guy wouldn't talk for the past few days."

Kaylin got out of her bed and tied her flight jacket around her waist. "Well I'm headin' outta here. Kinda need to walk around a bit," she announced, walking out the door after grabbing her CD player.

"Don't lose your footing!" Peter called out. "Shut up!" she replied. The door closed.

Kaylin rolled her eyes as she placed the headphones over her ears. She took out the CD player and pressed the play button. A piano started off low but then got to a higher note. She grinned by the fact that she knew the tune in a heartbeat: _Linus and Lucy_ by Vince Guaraldi Trio from the _Peanuts _films. She remembered how much she loved watching them as a child back on Terra.

And occasionally, her and Peter would dance to the tune in her quarters and play it during Christmas time.

She soon found the interrogation room and opened the doors. She entered the observation area and put the song on pause. She took the headphones off as soon as she saw Yondu pacing around the cloaked dragon from the other day. She turned on the microphone and this is what she heard:

"You better start talkin', lizard boy! What the fuck was all that back on Xandar?!" Yondu demanded slamming his hand on the metal table suddenly. The dragon remained quiet. She could sense that he was starting to lose his patience with him. The dragon muttered something. "Mimi... Mimi wanataka kuona msichana," he said.

"Listen buddy I ain't got one clue what yer sayin'. But if you don' speak normally… You'll be meetin' th' wrong end of th' arrow…!" Yondu hissed getting closer to his face.

Kaylin did a quick scan of the dragon. She waved her hand in front of the window and a screen popped up. She did a visual scan on him and found his profile.

She read:

**Name:** Kesu Ulvonda

**Age:** 359 Jokan years/33 Human years

**D.O.B:** -

**Home Planet:** Joka

**Species:** Jokan

**Height:** 5'9"

**Affiliate(s):** Golan Royal Army Scouts

She found it interesting that a person like him could be so old yet look like they have not aged in years (centuries for him). Kaylin took a good look at the Jokan man. His black hair was in braids and went down to the base of his neck; his yellow eyes glared under the light from the interrogation room; his only clothing consisted of his brown Obi-Wan Kenobi style cloak, his satchel, and grey torn pants, covering most of his grey scaled body.

She then stopped Yondu from killing Kesu by interrupting him via the microphone saying, "Look, Yondu, I don't think this is gonna work. The guy ain't crackin'." Yondu turned around to the two way mirror and replied in an irritated tone, "Why doncha make yerself useful an' try to make the guy speak Xandarian!" She was lucky he didn't see her make her sassy face. "Sure thing, cap'n dickhead…," she muttered.

Just as she was about to turn the dial for a translator, Kesu spoke again. "W-Wait!"

Yondu turned his head back to him and Kaylin barely had her hand on the dial. Kesu hesitated again before speaking. "...I-I said I wanted to speak to the girl…," he said. Yondu turned back to the two way and said, "Must be talkin' 'bout you, kid."

Kaylin straightened herself and replied, "Yeah I kinda caught onto that when he said that…"

Kaylin left the observation area and entered the interrogation room. Yondu turned to her and saw the bandage that was around her neck. He approached her and examined the bandage (which had a small dot of blood on it but he sensed that she would be fine). He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Better make that damn lizard talk, baby girl. He ain't crackin' with me."

Kaylin nodded and answered, "Shouldn't take too long."

She approached the table and leaned forward with a smirk and said, "Ya know you're makin' th' both of us pretty damn tired o' yer bullshit. Now I know you can speak Xandaran so you better fess up, man, or else yer gonna get th' wrong end of the arrow..." Kesu moved his eyes to meet hers and said, "Y-Yes, m'lady. Well- pardon me; I shouldn't have addressed you like that. Let me rephrase that: Yes, Royalty yako." Yondu cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "Royalty?" He repeated. Kaylin looked back at him and shrugged saying, "I have no idea what he's talkin' about."

Kesu chimed in saying, "Oh at our home planet, we treat all high ranking military officers serving our king as royalty. A tradition held on for many many generations." She turned back to Kesu and asked, "Now what makes ya think I'm "royalty" material?" Kesu answered quickly, "Well I have done research on your DNA once I had regained consciousness. My theory has confirmed that you are the daughter of the highest ranking officer in the Royal Army: a general to be precise." Kaylin raised an eyebrow and said, "Aaand you think I'm associated with him somehow?" Kesu chuckled and replied, "Of course! As I have said before, you are his daughter. His flesh and blood."

"So is that why ya had to fuckin' stab me in the neck with a damn syringe?"

Kesu shrugged and said, "How else was I supposed to make you vulnerable enough to get your DNA?"

Kaylin gave Kesu a "what the fuck" face and said, "Uh, ya could've asked! But either way, I would've said NO!"

Kesu gave a sigh and said in a sarcastic tone, "Such a shame that people must be rude nowadays."

"Excuse me?! What was that?" she asked furiously. Kesu only gave her a grin. Kaylin growled at him and bared her teeth and said, "Don't push it, bitch. I will cut yer throat open if ya don't start makin' sense…!" Yondu chimed in saying, "She's warnin' ya." Kesu lifted his eyes and said, "Oh no. I understand. I'm just not surprised that a Jokan like her can be so threatening like so many more."

Kaylin straightened up and pulled Yondu to the side and talked to him. "Yondu I can't tell if this guy's bein' serious or if he's just tryin' t' mess with us," she whispered.

"I can't tell either, kid. But we need t' get him t' crack and start talkin' right," he replied quietly, "I dunno wha' his deal is- but whatever the fuck it is, we're not gonna let him outta our sight!"

"I hope you understand that I can practically hear every word you are saying," Kesu interrupted. Yondu and Kaylin turned to him simultaneously and said, "Shut the fuck up!"

They turned back to each other and Kaylin started again in a quiet voice, "Can we just kill him already? I am so done wit' his shit it ain't even funny!"

"I agree wit' ya. We'll give him til tomorrow, an' then we'll get rid o' him," Yondu replied quietly.

They turned back to Kesu again and Yondu said, "Alright, boy. Ya got til tomorrow. An' we'll let ya go."

Kesu shrugged and said, "I thought I had told you everything. I guess not." Kaylin and Yondu surrounded Kesu and she said, "Whaddya mean 'everything'?" Kesu replied, "I mean it. You want to know everything, I'll tell you everything." Kaylin said, "I doubt yer gonna do that." And she turned to get something when Kesu suddenly said aloud, "Well then I guess you won't need to know about your lost heritage and the thing within you."

Kaylin stopped in her tracks when he said that; surprised. Yondu felt the same.

The room was silent until Kesu spoke. "I know everything about that dragon inside you. If you let me go tomorrow, then you won't be able to control it any longer. It will take over you, mind, body, and soul." Kaylin then took ahold of her mother's Irish ring, which was tied on a string around her neck. The etchings though weren't from Terra. Either way, the ring really meant alot to her.

"...Whaddya know 'bout it?" She asked. "Everything," Kesu answered, "I have been trained to tell the stories of the dragons." There was silence. "I promise you. I can help."

Kaylin turned to Kesu, who had a reassuring look on his face.

More silence filled the room.

…

…

…

"Yondu. We need t' keep him alive," Kaylin stated once they were outside the interrogation room. Yondu held up his hands and said, "Okay. First ya said t' kill him- NOW ya wanna keep him alive?!" She sighed and said, "Look I know I don't have that many borderline issues, but I honestly think we need t' keep him on board a lil' more longer. I-If he says he actually knows somethin' about this thing inside me, then I could get somewhat closer t' knowin' who my father is- An' my past!"

Yondu frowned.

"Yondu… C'mon. Please?" she pleaded, her pupils growing in her silver pools.

Yondu gave her a look and turned his face away from her and replied, "I dunno if them eyes are necessary kid. Ya know they don't work on me-" Once he turned back to her, she was already in her small dragon form.

Her small dragon form was the size of a horse, her scales silver with a shine of blue glistening in the light, her head the shape of the white Wyvern and the body of the Common Welsh Green from _Harry Potter_, and the wings of Smaug. She tilted her head and gave him her best "puppy eyes" look. "Oh fer th' love o'- Don't gimme that look," Yondu grunted. Kaylin then gave off a series of clicking and chirping noises. "No. No. No. Don't," he warned her. Kaylin just kept looking at him and kept up with the sounds.

Once Yondu looked right into her innocent silver eyes, he groaned in defeat and said, "Oh alright! We'll keep 'im here for another week. Ya happy?" Kaylin grinned and nuzzled her head against his cheek, wagging her tail and purring in joy. "Okay, okay. I get it, I get it," he said. He pushed her face out of the way and impulsively petted her snout. He smirked and commented, "Yer lucky no one ain't around t' see this." She smirked back, saying mentally, "Works everytime~."

**((Author's Note: This took a lot longer than it should've for an update, so I'm sorry for that. As y'all know, I'm kinda busy with school and projects and all that shit. But don't worry, I'll get back to it in no time! **

**Whoops. Almost forgot! Have some translations:**

-_Mimi... Mimi wanataka kuona msichana_(I... I want to see the girl.)

-_Royalty yako_ (Your Royalty)

**And Kesu is pronounced KAH-sue. Meant to add that sorry ^^; Welp, off to write the next chapter! *in Markiplier voice* Bye-bye!))**


	6. The Legend of Jaji

"Are you serious?! _You_- Yondu Udonta- allowed someone to stay longer than they should- On our ship?!" Peter exclaimed. Kaylin interrupted saying, "Well technically, it was a unanimous decision, but yeah, we've decided to let 'im stay." Peter couldn't believe what he was hearing. He's known Yondu for quite a long time, and he's never seen him do this sort of thing before.

Peter held his hands up in defeat and said out loud, "Okay. Something's totally the matter here! First: Kaylin nearly got killed twice in the span of four days- this time in frickin' public! Then: You two- the most specifically threaten th' guy. And now you two wanna keep him alive!"

Kaylin pursed her lips and nodded. "Yeah sounds about right," she said.

"Oh- My God!" Peter said making a hand gesture that looked like he was done with the two of them. Kaylin smirked and said, "Wow, Pete. Ya act like such a white girl." Peter turned to Kaylin and replied, "I do not! You're the white girl here!"

"Oh you take that back right now!"

"Make me, lil' sis!"

"I'll make you cry in pain once I hit you right where it's supposed t' hurt!"

Yondu just stepped back from them.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh I will, lil' man!" Kaylin slapped him in the arm lightly.

"Ow!" Peter winced mockingly.

"Oh c'mon that didn't hurt, ya pussy!"

"Did too!" Peter attempted to slap her but he missed.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not times infinity!"

In a matter of a split second, Peter and Kaylin began slapping each others hands, the air and started yelling at each other like a couple of five year olds.

'_This maybe why I'm an only child…_,' Yondu thought while watching them fight. As entertaining as it seemed, he was very used to seeing them fight like this for the past ten years. He had enough of their bickering and he separated them. "Alright, enough, you two!"

Peter turned his head from Kaylin and muttered, "She started it…"

"Ladies do not start fights… But they can finish them!" she replied.

Yondu rolled his eyes and said, "I swear, you two act like a buncha five year olds around each other."

Peter and Kaylin turned to each other and stuck their tongues out at each other. Yondu facepalmed and grunted.

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**…**_

Yondu, Kaylin and Peter entered the interrogation room. To no surprise, Kesu was still sitting there patiently. Kesu turned to the trio. "Yes?" he asked. Yondu gestured to Peter to unlock the cuffs on his wrist; he obeyed. "Alright, boy, yer stayin' here. Now I don't want any o' yer funny business while yer on board, ya got me?" Yondu said. Once the cuffs were off, Kesu rubbed his wrist. He averted his eyes to the Ravagers with a smirk, saying, "I knew you all couldn't let me go that easily."

"What I tell ya. Guy doesn't make a shit ton a sense," Kaylin whispered to Peter aside.

"I can tell," he said quietly.

"I heard that…!" Kesu said suddenly.

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**…**_

"And you're from… Where exactly?" Peter asked Kesu. Kaylin, Peter, Yondu, and Kraglin took Kesu to the mess hall for an early dinner. Kesu took a sip of his drink and answered, "A planet called Joka. It's very much like your Terra."

"Joka?"

Kesu nodded. "However, despite having some of the most high technological advances, we still contain some aspects of traditional tribal characteristics. Our king Golan likes to keep it that way." He shrugged. "Gods know why, though," he finishes.

Kraglin asked, "So what exactly made ya come all th' way over here for Kaylin?" Kesu looked at Kraglin and said, "Because my home planet is in danger. Our people are dying as we speak." Yondu groaned and muttered, "Great… Another dyin' species." Kesu shook his head and said, "No. I mean- Our people are going up against Kifo Cha Bwana. That means "Death Lord" in our language." The squad looked at each other and back to Kesu, who was taking another bite of food and another sip of his drink.

"Of course, he's only at half power," he added. Peter raised an eyebrow. "Half? What does that mean?" he asked. Kesu answered, "Meaning that he can only be at half the potential he has. His other half is missing."

"Where's the other half?" Kaylin wondered. Kesu looked right at Kaylin with a grin and simply said, "I dunno.

"Well what do I hafta do wit' this?" Kesu answered, "You are somehow associated with the missing half for the Kifo Cha Bwana. That's all I know."

"So... I could be Death?"

"In a sense, yes."

"Whaddya mean "in a sense"?" Yondu asked as his hand took a hold of her wrist. Kaylin looked down at his hand and back to Kesu. Kesu explained, "Well… To put it in their simple Terran terms, they're like the "yin and yang". The "yin" represents the harbinger of death for those whose souls are deemed to be damned to eternal punishment. The "yang"- The "yang" symbolizes the one who forgives dead souls and lets them join the gods."

Kesu looked around the mess hall. "This isn't the right place to explain it all. We must find some place… Private," he said. "Only options we really have 're either th' study, interrogation room, or cap'n's quarters," said Kraglin.

Before Yondu could protest, Kesu said, "Captain's quarters sound fine to me."

Yondu glared at Kraglin and wordlessly said, "Really?!" Kraglin just shrugged.

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**…**_

Kesu closed the door. "Much better," he muttered to himself. He turned to the Ravagers and said, "Now as I have said before, there's really another half for the Kifo Cha Bwana. One for eternal punishment, the other for eternal life."

Yondu, Kaylin, Peter and Kraglin kept listening to him as he walked in their direction. "With both of them together, they make the greatest judge of life and death: Jaji; meaning "The Judge"."

"The Judge, huh," Yondu muttered. Kesu nodded.

"So, basically… He's a god? In your terms?" Peter asked. Kesu nodded again.

"A god of death," Kesu said.

Silence filled the room. "Why would there be two versions o' death, anyway? I thought there'd only be one," Kaylin asked. Kesu answered, "It… It's a tale that is complicated but simple."

"That's kinda contradictin' itself, ain't it?" Yondu said. "In a sense… Yes," Kesu replied. He took a small bag out of his satchel and pulled a string that was keeping it closed.

"What's in th' bag?" Kaylin asked. Kesu replied with a grin, "The one thing I need to better explain the origin of Jaji." He took a handful of the bag's contents and tossed them up. Once they hit a certain point, they dispersed and started to shine like stars. Some started to take shape as Kesu mumbled something in his native language. The next thing they knew, a large white dragon took shape amongst the starry-like essence.

The four Ravagers were wide eyed in awe. "Whoa…," Peter muttered. "Yes yes, I know. Oddly enough, these normally require fire to work, but it looks like these work fine without it," Kesu noted.

Kraglin pointed to the dragon. "That the Jaji?" he asked. Kesu nodded and answered, "Yes."

As Kesu told the story, the starry essence took shape as he spoke.

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**…**_

_Many many years ago, our world was created by the Mbeba ya Maisha, our ever eternal king of the gods. He created everything you can think of: nature, animals, our people, everything. Maisha wanted what was right for his people once he was finished; and he also knew that some things must have a beginning and an end. Despite letting his people have their ends, he was a peaceful, loving and merciful god._

_He began seeing that his cycle of life was going as he was planning… However, another god stood in his way. _

_Another god, Waathirika Wakuu, did not agree with his choices. He believed that all life must have their imperfections, must have difficulties. Maisha disagreed. Then, the two gods quarreled until Waathirika took possession of Maisha, and he went mad from there. Both their powers combined made the Jaji._

_The Jaji then created a war between him and the Maisha's creations. Now that may seem impossible, but it is possible. Many generations have fought with Jaji, the war seemed to be endless. This left the Jokans no choice but to destroy their beloved Maisha within the Jaji. With all their power, the Jokans took down the Jaji and his powers were deteriorated._

_After that, he became meer essences, and the essences flowed into two of the high priests who have served the two gods. There are some bits and pieces of each spirit within the other. Since then, their spirits have been passed on through generations of the two Jokan priests families._

_However, the lineage for Waathirika have been lost. No one knows who is currently in possession of his spirit. There is, though, current information on the whereabouts of Maisha's spirit. His spirit should thrive within the descendants of priest Fedha Nyeupe._

_**...**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

The starry essences gathered by Kesu and formed the ancient symbols for Maisha and Waathirika. Maisha's glowed white while Waathirika's was black.

"An' ya know where the holier one is?" Kaylin asked.

Kesu turned directly to Kaylin and pushed the Maisha symbol towards her. The symbol glowed even brighter as it got closer to her. The stars dispersed and surrounded Kaylin.

Kesu smiled and said, "You."

**((Author's Note: I'm sorry that this chapter' seemed a little confusing with the names. Here's what's going on: There were originally two separate gods who serve like God and Satan equivalents for life and death. However, Waathirika, the harbinger, was believed to be somehow lost within the passing down process and no one knows who the current bearer of him is. Maisha, the forgiving god, is still kept in record as to who has him until it got to Kaylin.**

**The Jokans are currently going up against a dragon who is a harbinger of death like Waathirika and is just killing the planet's population slowly.**

**Hope that helped ^^;**

**Translations:**

_Mbeba ya Maisha- (Bearer of Life)_

_Waathirika Wakuu- (The Harbinger)_

_Fedha Nyeupe- (White Silver) _

**And now I shall be on my merry way! *in Markiplier voice* Bye-bye!))**


	7. Conflict and Resolution

The male Ravagers turned to Kaylin as the glowing continued around her. "M-Me?" she murmurred. Kesu only grinned. "It seems as though your father was the one who had it before passing it down to you. Therefore you must be Fedha Nyeupe's descendant."

"Not really a holy person m'self, if ya ask me," Kaylin commented. Kesu then said, "Now now. That does not actually mean you have to be a holy person to obtain Maisha."

Kaylin chuckled, "Yeah yeah, I know…"

Kesu then asked, "So, now that you know something about your heritage… Would you like to take a voyage to find your father?" The room fell silent as a graveyard. Kaylin never really thought about it. She really wanted to know who her father was all this time. But then again, she doesn't have a clue where Joka even is or what it's like. And she also really didn't trust Kesu that much after the incident.

She glanced over at Yondu with a questioning look. He glanced back at her, his face concerned. "...Well… I dunno. Might hafta think about it," Kaylin said finally. Kesu nodded and said, "Take your time."

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**…**_

"Kaylin! You ain't seriously considerin' goin' out there, are ya?" Yondu asked once he and Kaylin were left alone. "Yondu, if he really does know somethin' about my father, then I sure as hell don't wanna pass that up!" she argued. Yondu sighed and said, "Kid, look. I know yer happy 'bout wha' that guy's talkin' 'bout wit' yer father an' all that… but I don't think I'm willin' t' let ya go like that again. I-" He suddenly stopped midway through his argument.

"You what?" Kaylin questioned. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away from Kaylin. He then said, "I, uh... I just honestly don' think it's a good idea fer you t' do this, kiddo. I mean- I letcha go on yer own fer what? Almost three years? It ain't worth th' risk." Kaylin gave him a sad look before she sighed and looked down at the ground. Yondu rubbed the back of his neck again and then said, "Kid. I know ya really wanna find him, but maybe you should jes'... I dunno, hold off on it fer a while. I mean, ya got alot more t' deal wit' than what th' crazy lizard's sayin'." Kaylin cocked her head a little. "An' besides that… I'm more worried 'bout them seizures o' yers. Ya know?" he added.

She straightened her head and looked down sadly. She clearly does remember those. "Yeah…"

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**…**_

_"Yondu! We got a BIG problem!" exclaimed a medic running down the bridge. Yondu rolled his eyes as he turned around and saw him sprinting down towards him and asked, "Now what th' hell happened?" The medic stopped in front of his captain and informed him while catching his breath, "Ya know that Terran girl o' yours we brought up?" The Centaurian raised an eyebrow out of concern. "Yeah wha' about her?" The medic panted, "She… She's havin' seizures, sir!"_

_That made Yondu go running down the bridge to Kaylin's room with the medic behind him. "When did they start?!" he asked. The medic panted and replied, "Not too long ago, cap'n! I got Kraglin t' stay wit' her while I got you!" Yondu only nodded as they made it to her quarters. Yondu opened the door and was shocked upon entering._

_Kraglin was panicking while trying to hold her shaking body down. The girl was moving rapidly up and down and was grunting, yelping, and growling._

_"Dammit, Kraglin! I said DON'T hold her down!" the medic yelled at Kraglin. The Asgardian looked up to both them with anxiety. "I-I'm sorry! I-I- She started gettin' worse a few minutes after you left!" Kraglin exclaimed. The medic and Yondu quickly approached Kaylin and Kraglin and the medic pushed Kraglin out of the way. "Cap'n! I need yer coat!"_

_"Why?"_

_"To support her head!"_

_The Centaurian removed his flight jacket and put it under her head. Nobody told him about this- not even her. He thought that maybe she had no idea about the seizures or that they were just starting. Yondu could only watch as the medic loosened any tight clothing on her. However, after a few seconds, Kaylin gasped and snapped out of it sitting up straight immediately coming out of her seizure. The Ravagers froze. She then mumbled something before crying. Kraglin looked at the medic, then at Yondu, and back at the medic. "I… I dunno what the hell that was… But she needs t' rest, sir. It's gonna be th' only way she'll ever recover from this," the medic said._

_Kraglin was about to rub her back in order to calm her down but Yondu batted his hand away from her. He stood up and said, "Fine by me." and he picked up his jacket and left the room. Only the medic and Kraglin were left with the upset child. Kraglin sighed and picked her up, sitting on her bed and started to soothe her. The medic pulled out a device and scanned her systems._

_"Everythin' seems stable, Krag," he stated. Kraglin nodded. "I-I'll be with her for a while then leave," the Asgardian offered. The medic agreed, "That sounds like a plan."_

**_…_**

**_…_**

**_…_**

Kaylin sighed. She then looked up to her captain and muttered, "Durin' that time, it felt like somethin' was tryin' t' attack me. That's why them seizures were so violent." The two stood in the silence. "If those attacks have anythin' t' do wit' that damn lizard, then we can't risk it. I'm not lettin' that happen…!" Yondu said. Kaylin answered, "How would you know? You haven' really given him a chance t' explain himself."

"Cuzz I know a shit more 'bout not trustin' people right when they try t' kill ya!"

"He did have a good reason for doin' that!"

"Yer takin' _his_ side now?!"

"I'm not! I'm tryin' t' defend th' guy before ya threatened t' kill him!"

"Really? 'Cause that sounds like yer takin' his side!"

Kaylin growled, "Jus' 'cause I got a different mindset than you, doesn't mean ya gotta jump th' fuckin' gun an' say that sorta shit!"

Yondu angrily slammed his hands on the table and growled back, "Ya think yer such a smartass bitch t' talk like that t' yer cap'n?!" Kaylin was taken aback by his remark. Of course she had to defend her argument but that was proved difficult, especially when you're arguing against Yondu Udonta. She spat, "I think ya know what I mean, _suh_!" Yondu really hated it when Kaylin called him "sir" like that in her Eastern Kentucky accent. And he was also a little intimidated when he saw her pupils shrank to where they were almost paper thin amongst the glistening silver of her eyes.

He backed away from her with a scowl on his face before turning to leave. "Hope ya fuckin' make up yer mind 'bout yer choice!" he growled to her when he exited. Kaylin glared at him even when the door closed. She gave out a dragon-like growl and mumbled, "Fuck you, man…" She then decided to get dinner before calling it a day.

_**…**_

_**…**_

_**…**_

Kaylin avoided Kesu, Peter, and Kraglin the rest of the day, not even caring that Yondu was lurking around. She wasn't in the mood to talk about her decision; not that she even made one. Once Kaylin finished her dinner, she immediately went to the study and got out her CD player and a small sketchbook and pencil. She put the headphones on and pressed play.

_Them Bones_ by Alice in Chains started playing and she smirked and began sketching, putting the song on repeat.

_"~I believe them bones are me_

_Some say "We're born into the grave"_

_I feel so alone, gonna end up a_

_Big ole pile a them bones~"_

Her sketch was starting to take shape: it was a skeleton demon with blood on it's snout. The demon was smiling like a maniac. It was holding some objects in its hand as well.

_"~Dust rise right on over my time_

_Empty fossil of the new scene_

_I feel so alone, gonna wind up a_

_Big ole pile a them bones~"_

The objects were a jaw, a brain, two eyeballs, and an intestine. The bloodied intestine was hanging out of its mouth as well.

_"~Toll due bad dream come true_

_I lie dead gone under red sky_

_I feel so alone, gonna end up a_

_Big ole pile a them~"_

Kaylin could describe this drawing in a split second as "vent art". And that vent was coming from her frustration of the argument between her and Yondu. Her vent art had no in-betweens: they were either angst or extreme blood and gore. But she didn't care about that; she needed something to vent on.

_"~I feel so alone, gonna end up a_

_Big ole pile a them_

_I feel so alone, gonna end up a_

_Big ole pile a them bones~"_

She closed her sketchbook and stopped the song. She sighed as she got up and returned to her room. Just as she was opening her door, a voice called out to her. "Kaylin! Wait!" She grunted as she recognized the voice. "Pete, not now! I'm not in the mood!" she growled. Peter stopped her and said, "Well okay, sorry to hear that, but I got somethin' to tell ya!" She angrily turned to him and hissed, "Get th' fuck away from me, Peter!"

Peter got immediately frightened by her thin pupils and her baring her teeth. "...O-Okay. Sorry to bother ya, then…," he whimpered. Kaylin flicked her forked tongue and opened her door, shutting it in front of his face upon entering.

She tossed her jacket and sketchbook on the table but gently placed her CD player on it. She plopped on the bed and just laid there, trapped in deep thought. She played with her long bangs as she laid there. She could hear some muffled talking outside her door but decided not to do or say anything. She just wanted to have some relaxation after all that with Yondu.

A few minutes later, she heard her door open. "Yondu, ya know I hate it when people come in my room like that," she said out loud. Yondu stood at the entrance before speaking. "Yeah I know," he said simply. Kaylin huffed, "Look, whatever it is wanna say, jes' say it."

He didn't say anything.

"Yondu. Seriously. Ju- Could ya just say somethin'?!"

There was only footsteps approaching her. And then silence with some faint rustling of his flight coat pocket.

She frustratedly turned to face him once he stopped right by her.

"Yondu! What the hell ya-?!"

Her eyes went straight to his held out hand, and they widened as she saw what it was he was holding out to her: the small plush husky he took from her ten years ago when she stepped foot on the_ Eclector_. She immediately dropped the fact that she was on the verge of kicking him out of her room. Her throat tightened.

Yondu rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and said, "I, uh, I figured you were pretty upset 'bout th' whole me not wantin' ya t' find yer father argument. Quill an' Krag said tha'... Maybe givin' ya this back might help a bit." Kaylin slowly reached for the plush dog toy and held it in her own hands. Just holding it again was bringing tears to her eyes. "An' uh, I also fig'red it meant alot t' ya. I knew ya had that thing fer a pretty long time even before we took ya in," he added.

Kaylin didn't hear a single word he said. All she cared was that she got back her precious toy back. A smile was beginning to form on her lips as tears welled up in her eyes. "But really, erm… They wanted me t' come in an' try t' talk some sense into ya. So… Kay… I-"

A pair of arms suddenly wrapped around his torso. Shocked and confused, Yondu looked down with a raised eyebrow. He had no idea why she did this; she's never done this before once (okay maybe a few times but that's when she was younger). What he didn't see were the tears of joy going down her face and a big smile. "Th-Thank ya…!" she mumbled.

Getting the feeling somebody could be watching them, he irked and rubbed the back of his neck out of embarrassment. "Eeh… Yeah. Whatever. Can ya let go o' me now?" he asked. She refused to let go. He grunted as he pried her off of him. She eventually let go of him and returned to her plush dog.

"Eh, sorry. It's just... This jes' meant alot t' me," she said. Yondu asked, "Why's that?"

"It- My mom had given it t' me when I was born. I jes' never left th' house without it," she replied as she fiddled with it. She looked back up to him and continued, "If ya ask, yeah, I gave 'im a name... But it's kinda stupid t' be honest." She chuckled that last part. Yondu smirked and raised an eyebrow saying, "How stupid can it be?" She shrugged. "It just is. I'm a lil' embarrassed by it," she commented.

"Kay. I've heard dumber shit than wha' ya might say. Jes' tell me!"

Kaylin averted her eyes away from him, her shoulders hunched over a little. "Fine," she said.

"His name's Hachi. There. Ya happy?"

Yondu only stared at her blankly. "What's so stupid 'bout that?" He asked. Kaylin shrugged again saying, "I-I dunno. Jes' did..." The Centaurian smirked, "Like I said, I heard some much dumber shit than that!" Once he finished, he quickly put an arm around her and pulled her in for a headlock. Kaylin grinned as they laughed and wrestled.

Kaylin managed to get out of his headlock and gave him her smirk. He slipped off her bandana and ruffled her short red-brown hair. "Either you git some shut eye, er else I'll have th' crew eat ya!" Yondu joked. She raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Yeah yeah, whatever." Yondu turned to leave her quaters with her turning of the lights automatically. Yondu turned around for a second and watched her adjust her sleeping position and held the plush dog close to her.

Something about this made Yondu grin and chuckle. He closed the door.


End file.
